La Belle et La Bête
by Asylum Survivor
Summary: For who could love a beast? Ichihime. AU.


**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.**

**Title: La Belle Et La Bête (for the lack of a better title, I guess?)**

**Pairing: Ichigo/Orihime**

**Inspiration/Prompt: "For who could love a beast?"**

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_For who could love a beast?_

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Orihime Inoue woke up to the cottage empty. There was no familiar sizzle of eggs frying on the stove, signaling breakfast was almost ready. The curtains were still closed, blocking the dim light from the outside from filtering in. She ran through the house, searching every little nook and cranny until she could find her brother, but he was nowhere to be seen. She went into a state of frenzy, frantically searching the house for any signs to show that he was still there. When she couldn't find any, she ran outside, still in her nightclothes, only a coat and fur slippers to protect her from the snow. Her small feet sank into the virgin snow, but she ignored the icy temperature.

_Sora, where are you?_

Orihime ran all the way to her best friend's house, and she knocked on the door with both of her hands. The noise was loud enough to raise a bear out of its slumber. The wooden door creaked open to a sleepy girl with short dark hair, rubbing her eyes furiously.

"Hime? Why so early?" The girl asked, balancing her lantern on her hip.

"Tatsuki, Sora is missing." Orihime simply replied.

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"Are you positive he's missing?" Tatsuki Arisawa took the whistling kettle off of the stove and poured the water out into a teapot.

"Yes. He didn't go to work, since his bed was left unmade." Orihime warmed her hands over fire, twisting her fingers into knots out of worry. Her brother worked as an apprentice for the village apothecary. It was bitter work, but work was work as long it paid.

Tatsuki brought two mugs over to the fireplace, and handed one to her red haired friend. She watched as the gray-eyed girl carefully took a sip.

"Maybe you should go to the apothecary, just to see if Sora made it there or not. You could ask the manager if he saw him," Tatsuki suggested, placing a reassuring hand on Orihime's shoulder.

"I don't know, Tatsuki. It's so far from here, and the horse is gone, too. If Sora had left for work, he took the horse with him." Orihime sighed, not knowing how else to get to the apothecary, which was stationed on the outskirts of the village of Karakura. Normally, she would've walked, but the harsh winter made it near impossible to travel by foot. She and Sora were too poor to own a wagon.

"You can borrow ours. Father walks to work now, since it's close enough." Tatsuki replied, pointing towards the backyard.

The girls made their way to the Arisawa stable, trekking through the growing snowdrifts. Orihime hated to admit it, but the weather seemed to be getting worse. She worried that she wouldn't be able to reach Sora in time, before something bad would happen to the both of them.

"Here you go," Tatsuki returned from one stable stalls with a dark horse. "He should be able to get you to the outskirts by tomorrow."

"That's great!" Orihime tried to cheer up, but it was difficult not to burst into tears. She accepted the reins as Tatsuki handed them to her.

"Take this lantern, you'll need it in the forest." Tatsuki gave her friend the lantern she had in her hands. "And I made you a travel sack, just in case. I put some food and money in it, if you need it."

"Tatsuki, I don't need," Orihime began but Tatsuki cut her off.

"Please, Orihime. I need you to be safe." The dark haired girl smiled at her.

"Thank you, Tatsuki. For everything," Orihime enveloped her best friend in a warm hug before making her way out.

"I really hope you find your brother. Stay safe, Hime!" Tatsuki called out to Orihime's retreating form.

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It had started to get dark when Orihime entered the forest. Now it was pitch black, the full moon providing the only light. Even through the moonlight, she could barely see ahead of her. She could feel herself grow sleepy, but she fought sleep until she reached a clearing in the woods.

She let out a breath, watching it cloud over in the freezing air. She stopped the horse as she saw a large dark shape loom over the clearing, blocking out the moon.

As she approached cautiously, the dark shape turned out to be a towering castle. The castle seemed abandoned, as there was no smoke coming out from the chimney, no light in the windows, and no signs of life anywhere. It would be perfect place to rest at for the night.

Orihime put the horse in the old stable and made her way into the castle. The heavy doors creaked open, leading her to a vast and empty hall. She could hear a loud thumping noise resonating around her, but she soon realized that it was her heart beating in her chest. She took a deep breath to steady herself, and tightened her cloak around her. She rounded a corner, and she was in front of worn doors. She lifted her small hands and slowly pushed the doors. She took wary steps as the doors swung open, leading her to a parlor room. Just like most things the castle, the room was empty.

The girl thought that this room would be decent enough to spend the night in, so she went to the hearth to get a fire going. When she crept closer to the fireplace, she noticed that all the firewood was missing.

Orihime left the room quietly, careful not to disturb the stillness of the atmosphere. She stepped into the hall and got out of the corner. She floated through, opening doors leading to different rooms, but neither housed the supplies she needed. By the time she reached the last room in the expansive concourse, she'd already started to lose hope. As she neared the dark corridor, she could feel herself being pulled in towards the room, and not once did she try to stop the overwhelming power hypnotizing her. Orihime put her hand on the door handle, and pushed down to let the lock slide in. She took a stride forward but immediately stopped when she felt that she wasn't alone. She felt as though someone was watching her from behind, someone breathing down her neck.

She turned around, forgetting to shut the door. She instinctively pressed back onto the wooden frame of the door, cowering in fear.

A tall, humanoid creature was staring back at her. It had bone whit skin, with a similar colored mask on its face. Two white horns sprouted from its head, which was covered in long orange hair. The form was dressed in all black, the only color coming from the tufts of red fur at its wrists and collar. But the thing that disturbed Orihime the most was the gaping hole in the center of the beast's chest.

Then the creature took a breath to speak, but its mouth did not move. It spoke in a strange echoing, but raspy voice, the sound resonating through the desolate hallway.

"You should not be here."

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**This took forever to map out. Writing this first chapter wasn't so hard, it was all the planning that killed me. Reviews are love. ~A**


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